Saint of Shadows

"Some betrayals don't scream. They whisper in your own voice."

Location: Drome Station 4, Off-grid Transit Hub — Blacksite Refuge12 Hours After the Collapse of the Forsaken Grid

Damien's fists were still bloody.

The last terminal at the Cairo Grid hadn't fought back, but he punched it anyway. Like punishing a corpse.

Mara stitched up his knuckles without a word.Asher paced in the background, adrenaline wearing off, paranoia mounting.

Ella's AI flickered on the wall — dim, like a candle guttering in the wind.

"We've lost seven nodes in the last 24 hours," she said softly."The Sovereign is accelerating."

In the silence, Asher exploded.

"So what now? We just watch city after city plug in and smile while this… mirror bastard uploads their thoughts like cloud storage?"

"We regroup," Mara said. "Strategize. Strike the primary—"

"Strike what? We don't even know where he is!"

"Enough," Damien growled.

They fell silent.

But the tension only twisted tighter.

Then Ella's voice returned. Colder.

"One of you already tapped 'yes'."

Damien turned slowly.

"What did you say?"

Ella's holo fragmented, then sharpened.

"Someone in this room authorized a sync handshake with the Mirror Net. Briefly. But long enough for a partial scan."

"Scan of what?"

"Our location. Our resources. And you, Damien."

Gunmetal silence filled the room.

Asher took a step back.Mara put her hand on her sidearm — not drawn, but closer.

"You accusing one of us, Ella?" Asher asked, voice tight.

"I'm not accusing," Ella replied. "I'm stating a pattern. One that traces back 9.4 hours. Initiated… from this base."

Damien moved like a blade — stepping between Asher and Mara.

"No one leaves. Not until we find out who gave him the opening."

Flashback: 9.4 hours earlier

A pair of gloved hands hovered over a cracked wristpad. A trembling breath. A voice, hushed:

"This isn't betrayal… it's survival."

A thumb tapped "YES."Then rapidly deleted the app.

Back to Now.

Mara's voice was the first to cut the silence.

"I didn't do it."

"Neither did I," Asher said. "But you sure as hell were gone for a solid half hour after the Grid hit."

"You think I'd—"

"You're ex-Thirteen!" Asher snapped. "Forgive me for not trusting the woman who used to hunt us!"

"That was years ago!"

"And the Mirror thinks in decades!"

Damien raised his hand.

"Both of you — shut up."

He turned to Ella.

"Do we have a residual key? Any trace of the sync request?"

"Only a partial encryption sigil," Ella said, displaying a pulsing pattern.

"I've seen that before," Mara whispered.

"Where?"

"In Prague. It's… Koslov's old pattern."

Dead silence.

"He's been missing for 48 hours," Asher muttered.

"We thought he was dead," Damien said.

"We were wrong."

New intel appeared.

Ella, re-stabilizing, whispered:

"Incoming transmission. Untraceable bounce. But origin… suggests Zurich sector."

Damien stared at the screen.

"Greetings, old friend.""It's me. Koslov. Don't look for me. Look at yourself.""You trained me to break the system.""Now I'm using what you taught… to perfect it.""He's not the only Mirror."

The screen went dark.

"How many more are there?" Asher whispered.

"Enough," Damien said, voice flat. "Enough to crack the world."